Know Everything About Global Cooling Prize Competition in 10 Minute read

We all agree that the world temperature is rising rapidly. As a result, even the coldest places on earth are suffering due to temperature increase. ESRL research has shown that during the last 800000 years, the earth has maintained the record of being in 180-280 PPM CO2. But the industrial revolution had put a very bad effect on the earth. Today’s CO2 rate of increase is more than 100 times faster than the increase that occurred when the last ice age ended. CO2 in the Earth Atmosphere has touched a new milestone of 400 PPM, which is very dangerous.

Most of the human inventions like cars, vehicles, industries, chemicals, fertilizers, air pollutants, etc are mutually responsible for the disaster of climate change. But our Residential cooling aircon also tops in this list. To stop this rapid change, A global cooling price competition has been started to get some reliable solutions to counter this climate change done by excessive use of Air conditioners. MCL Aircon, An Aircon Service Singapore company has briefly described every detail of this competition below:

1. How the Global Cooling Prize started?

Global cooling Prize is an “innovation competition” where applicants from all around the web are invited to invent something that can minimize the effect produced by Residential Aircons. The cooling prize has been started with the idea of getting an environment-friendly solution for residential cooling problems.

A study shows that there will be an approx increase in the Aircon demand from 1.2 billion(current) to 4.5 billion by 2050. This is a big threat to nature due to rapid climate change results.

The Indian Ministry of science and technology with the contribution of Rocky Mountain Institute (RMI); Mission Innovation; has started this competition. Many world-famous publications like Sidney E Frank, Tomkat Foundation, Argosy Foundation, The Lemelson Foundation and so on are sponsoring this prize.

2. Aim of Global Cooling Prize

The Ultimate Aim of the Global Cooling prize competition is to get an eco-friendly solution to the cooling requirements of the world population. The main Aim of This prize is to get a solution that will have at least five times (5X) less climate impact than standard Residential/ Room Air Conditioners (RAC) units currently available in the market.

The organization has estimated that this could prevent up to 100 gigatons (GT) of CO2-equivalent emissions by 2050. This will reduce 0.5˚C of global temperature by the year 2100, which will be a huge accomplishment that is achievable with this simple step.

3. Countries and Institutions involved in Global Cooling Prize

Photo credit: Globalcoolingprize

The Global Cooling Prize is initiated by the Rocky Mountain Institute (RMI), Mission Innovation and the Department of Science and Technology, Government of India. The global cooling prize event is being supported by many large coalitions of partners. This Competition was first launched in November 2018, from then more than 2000 applicants have registered themselves.

Many research institutes, startup managers, Universities, Ac manufacturers from all over the world have shown their interest in this competition. Out of these registered participants, 445 teams submitted their “main ideas and interests” in the application form. A large number of 139 teams from 31 countries have also submitted a detailed answer on how they will be able to achieve the desired results.

4. Global Cooling Prize History

The first inauguration of the Global Cooling Prize Competition was done in November 2018 in India by Union Minister of Science and Technology and Earth Sciences, Dr. Harsh Vardhan along with The Rocky Mountains Institute. This award carries a total price of $3 million.

Dr. Harsh Vardhan stated that big and joint efforts should be made to tackle down this increasing temperature of the earth due to Aircons. He also stated that the risk from Air conditioner increases due to the negligence of people. They do not bother to do the proper maintenance and care of Air conditioners. This makes the situation worse. Aircons increases the harmful impacts on climate due to improper care. MCL Aircon, an Aircon servicing Singapore company has published the article on necessity of Aircon Service at home.

The key highlights of this event ware:

This summit was the first of its kind to find an alternative or solution to Residential Air conditions.
The event was organized by the cooperation of the Department of Science and Technology along with well known, Rocky Mountain Institute, Alliance for an Energy-efficient Economy (AEEE), CEPT University and Conservation X Lab.
The Global Cooling Price was launched in this event.
A total Price of $3 million will be awarded.
$1 million will be awarded to the winner.
$2 Million will be paid to 10 finalists for their research in creating the prototype.

5. Global cooling prize Amount

The Global Cooling Prize carries an award total of $3 million. Not only this, 10 short-listed technologies will be awarded up to $200,000 each in intermediate prizes to support the design and development of their innovative solution to residential aircon.

The winning team will be awarded $1 million to support its incubation and early-stage commercialization. Any kind of Expert support, technical, non-technical will be also provided by the global cooling experts.

The Global Cooling Prize will shine a spotlight on the need for innovation and help create an environment where innovation can succeed, making it a perfect time for those with new technologies to challenge the status quo. It has the opportunity to seize a US$20 billion market and transform the global AC market for the better,” said Iain Campbell, Senior Fellow, Rocky Mountain Institute.

6. Predefined Goals for Applicants

The global cooling prize is not as simple as you may think. There are Predefined goals that you must achieve to be in this competition and later get this prestigious award and its price along with the global apprehension for your invention.

To qualify for the competition, several rules and goals are set by the managing authority(Judges) listed below:

The solution must have (5X) five times less climate impact.
The actual final cost should not be more than twice the baseline unit cost.
The power consumption limit has been set up not more than 700 W at full speed.
Water consumption should not be more than 14 liters per day if needed.
There should be zero onsite emissions from any fossil fuel-based captive power source
Zero ozone-depleting potential (ODP) and lower toxicity (class A) refrigerant complying with IEC 60335-2-40 (2018) or ISO 5149 standards.
Innovation should be usable in existing homes, rather than getting a specialized design later.

7. Stages involved in Global cooling prize event

Global cooling Prize was started on 12 November 2018 with a joint collaboration of different institutions from all over the world. Global cooling prize competition running in the form of stages.

The intent to apply date was June 2019.
In August 31, 2019, all the interested applicants had to discuss the technical Application and capability of their ideas.
In the month of October 2019, all the applications were evaluated and scrutiny was done.
In the same year November 2019, finalists will be announced by Price distribution authority.
All the finalists will get up to $200,000 to help with their prototype development and invention research. The date limit for Prototype development is April 2020.
In November 2020 the final stage will be conducted where all the inventions will be tested in the lab by the present Judges. One winner will get $1 million as the price for his innovation to counter the Global temperature change.
The winner will be announced in New Delhi, India on November 15, 2020,

7. Global cooling prize deadline

The Global Cooling Prize was started in November 2018 and will continue till November 2020 when the final winner will be announced, if any. The criteria to meet here for the final price is quite hard so applicants have to work very efficiently to accomplish the pre-defined goals. This cooling Prize competition has many levels before coming to the final Event of the price announcement. The final end of this competition will be held in November 2020.

8. The review committee and judges of this prize

A review committee has already been formed in 2019 to judge this competition. The Technical Review Committee is full of credible individual cooling experts. The judges have the full authority and responsibility to carry on this competition.

They have to do all kinds of tasks including receiving the applications, selection the candidates, scrutiny of best ideas, providing instructions to candidates, lab testing of the finalist’s innovations. After that, they also have to decide the finalists as well as the actual winner.

# Judges of Global cooling Prize

Gabrielle Dreyfus
Iain Campbell
Nihar Shah
Omar Abdelaziz
Prof. Mullick S.C.
Prof. Srinivasa Murthy
Dr. Sukumar Devotta
Dr. Toby Peters
William Sisson

Photo credit: Globalcoolingprize

9. #FAQ about Global cooling prizes

1. About the Prize

Who can participate in the Prize?

Anyone with a great idea can apply for this prize. However, he will be responsible for doing every necessary step after applying the form. This will include working on the idea, manufacturing of the unit, testing and retesting until he completes his idea for final lab testing by judges.

Can a single person apply for this prize?

Making an eco-friendly solution to Residential Aircons is not a simple task. Most probably a single person can’t make this kind appliance single-handedly in two years. This requires a team. Individuals can make a team and then can apply.

Will participants will get any support from the Cooling prize authorities?

All the participants from all around the globe will get support from the cooling industry giant who will help in every technical or nontechnical glitch. Participants will be helped with investment, support of experts, and prototype development.

How will the 10 finalists get $ 200000?

The $200000 is not the prize. It’s just a help by the Global Cooling Prize authority to make your prototype ready. The first $100000 will be given before sending two prototypes and the rest $100000 will be given after receiving the working prototype shipment by Authorities. A total of 10 finalists will be awarded $200000 each total to $2 million help.

2. Process of Application

When is the last date to apply to the prize?

The last date to apply was August 31, 2019. NO applications will be accepted by the Global Cooling Prize authority after this date.

What I have to do next if my application gets selected?

The next step is to provide the “Participant Intent to Apply form”. In this form, you will be asked to showcase your interests and ideas. The last date to fill this form was June 30, 2019. But new applicants have the benefits of filling this form along with application form till 31 august 2019.

3. Technical evaluation

What should be my innovation capable of?

Installation cost to consumers should not be more than 2X than the baseline AC unit when manufactured at a scale of 100,000 units.
The invention should consume no more than 700 W of power from the grid.
The final solution should not consume 14 liters of water per day when averaged over a year.
Innovation should be designed to meet a 1.5 TR (5.3 kW) cooling load at standard outdoor conditions and maintain below 27°C DBT and 60% RH indoor conditions
Use of materials with excessively high embodied carbon should be reduced and rare earth materials should be minimized for sure

For detailed information about technical evaluation, Please visit Global Cooling Prize

What is the baseline unit for the competition?

The baseline room air conditioner (RAC) unit selected is a Voltas 1.5 TR (5.3 kW) fixed-speed, mini-split type RAC unit with an Energy Efficiency Ratio (EER) of 3.5 W/W and using R22 refrigerant with a global warming potential of 1760 (based on IPCC AR5 report). The model details of the baseline AC unit is Voltas SAC 183 JZJ.

How many stages are there of technical evaluation?

The technical evaluation will be done on two stages. The first stage is the primary criteria and the second stage is the Supplementary criteria. The primary criteria to accomplish is Climate Impact and Affordability Criteria.

The supplementary evaluation will be done on the basis of limitations on refrigerants, water, full-load power consumption, materials, and operational requirements 5X fewer climate impacts and not more than 2x more of the cost of present-day aircon.

What a common household can do to Reduce the Aircon Impact on the environment?

A common person can minimize the impact of Aircon by doing its proper care and maintenance. Aircon Servicing Singapore company , MCL Aircon (A leading Aircon servicing provider of Singapore) is helping households who want to do this. Their Highly skilled and experienced technicians do Aircon Servicing. Get your aircon servicing quote now.

10. Conclusion

The global cooling prize is a great initiative to reduce the global warming impact due to aircon. This will encourage cooling experts from all over the world to develop something unique and eco-friendly to reduce climate change. If this competition became successful it will be a huge accomplishment in the field of air conditioning. People are getting aware and demanding to reduce the harmful impacts of present days aircons on the environment. The global cooling prize is a road that leads to this demand.

If you care for the global warming and our next generation, you can do your part by maintaining your aircon in good condition by hiring a professional for aircon servicing at your home.